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Those who do not give up on prayer cannot possibly continue to offend God habitually. Either they will give up on prayer, or they will stop sinning.
- Alphonsus Liguori -
(Another excellent reason to persevere in prayer.)
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ACTS 12:1-11; PS 34:2-9; 2 TM 4:6-8, 17-18
MT 16:13-19
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you
say that I am?"
Simon Peter said in reply,
"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound
in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
USCCB Lectionary
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Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
To call someone a "rock" is one of the greatest of compliments. The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the world upon." Abraham put his trust in God and made
God's word the foundation of his life and the bedrock of his faith. Through Abraham God established a nation for himself. Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to proclaim that Jesus was truly the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God.
The New
Testament describes the church, the people of God, as a spiritual house and temple of the Holy Spirit with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5). Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks - spiritual stones. The Lord Jesus tests each of us personally with the same question: Who do you say that I am?
"Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and my Savior who has set me free from sin and deception. Make my faith strong like the Apostles Peter and Paul and give me boldness to speak of you to others that they may come to know you as Lord and Savior."
- from dailyscripture.net
Paperback, Kindle
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd ed.) ____________ Chapter 4: The False Self System The problem for all of us is that Egoic development takes place in the context of conditional love. From conception to fetal development through childhood, adolescence and into adulthood, the significant people in our lives often love us not so much for who we are, but for what we can do. We are loved because, and spend much of time and energy trying to come to an understanding of the meaning of
because and what we can do to fulfill the requirements by means of which we will obtain the love and acceptance of others.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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